The Miami Dolphins are still chasing their first win of the 2026 season, and the national outlook for Sunday’s home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs is about as bleak as it gets.
A roundup of predictions for the Week 3 matchup produced a clean sweep: every national picker went with Kansas City. A few expected the Dolphins to keep things closer than others, but the overall message was the same - Miami is not getting much benefit of the doubt right now.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz had the most specific call, predicting Chiefs 38, Dolphins 20.
One analysis pointed to Kansas City’s offense looking more complete with Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off knee surgery, and said the Chiefs will also run effectively against Miami with Kenneth Walker III. The same breakdown added that Miami does not have much to challenge at home.
Another prediction reached even further back into the matchup’s history, noting that these two teams played the longest game in NFL history in 1971 and saying that for Dolphins fans attending this one, it will feel even longer.
A separate analysis emphasized that Kansas City is 2-0 but making its first road trip of the season, then brushed that aside by saying it won’t matter. That take framed Miami as a team leaning heavily on young players and building toward the future, with the Chiefs expected to control the game and Mahomes positioned for a big day.
The rest of the predictions were simply straight picks for Kansas City from Zach Berman, Chad Graff, Jon Greenberg, Larry Holder, Josh Kendall, Nick Kosmider, Steve Louis Goldstein and Austin Mock.
One final analysis acknowledged that Miami will eventually win some games as its young players develop through their rookie year, but said it is hard to picture the Dolphins staying close with the veteran Chiefs. It also noted that Chop Robinson’s return should help the defense, though the unit had too many problems against the 49ers to clean up in one week, and the offense still does not look ready for a shootout.
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